Apple Watch SE 2022 : Full Scientific Review

Summary

In this comprehensive review, Rob, a postdoctoral scientist, evaluates the 2022 Apple Watch SE's health and sports tracking capabilities against its higher-end counterparts. Despite lacking a temperature sensor and SpO2 monitoring, the SE performs remarkably well in heart rate tracking, sleep stage detection, GPS tracking, and step counting, often matching or closely aligning with the more expensive Apple Watch Series 8. The video provides detailed analysis and comparisons, suggesting that for many, the SE offers excellent value without significant performance drawbacks.

Takeaways

• 📌 The Apple Watch SE (2022) offers great value for money compared to the more expensive Apple Watch Series 8.
• 🏃‍♂️ In terms of health and sports tracking, the SE does not significantly underperform compared to the Series 8, especially in heart rate tracking accuracy.
• 📊 The SE's heart rate tracking was tested against a Polar H10 chest strap and showed a high correlation with a near-perfect r value of 1.00.
• 🚴‍♂️ During various activities like indoor spinning, outdoor walking, and cycling, the SE demonstrated reliable heart rate tracking with minor deviations.
• 💤 The new sleep stage tracking algorithm on the SE shows promise, with good agreement (97% for deep sleep) when compared to an EEG device.
• 🌡️ The SE lacks the new temperature sensor and the ability to measure oxygen saturation like the Series 8, which may not be crucial for most users.
• 📍 GPS tracking on the SE is consistent and accurate, with quick signal acquisition and minimal deviation during tested routes.
• 🚶‍♂️ Step counting accuracy on the SE is reliable, with close counts to the actual steps taken and minimal false counts during non-walking activities.
• 🏋️‍♂️ During weightlifting, the SE counted some steps, which was unexpected, but overall step counting performance was still good.
• 🔢 The SE's performance in various health tracking features is comparable to other Apple Watch models, including the Series 6, 7, and 8.
• 💬 The reviewer, Rob, a postdoctoral scientist specializing in biological data analysis, provides an independent assessment of the watch's capabilities.

Q & A

Why might the 2022 Apple Watch SE be the first choice for the reviewer despite the release of the Apple Watch 8 and Ultra?

The reviewer considers the Apple Watch SE as their first choice due to its competitive price compared to the Apple Watch 8 and Ultra, and because it does not significantly underperform in health and sports tracking features.

What are the major differences between the Apple Watch SE and the Apple Watch 8 in terms of health tracking?

The Apple Watch SE lacks the new temperature sensor introduced with the series 8 and uses an older generation optical sensor that measures heart rate but not oxygen saturation, unlike the Watch 8.

How did the reviewer test the heart rate tracking accuracy of the 2022 Apple Watch SE?

The reviewer tested the heart rate tracking accuracy of the 2022 Apple Watch SE during 15 training sessions and compared the measurements against a Polar H10 ECG chest strap, which is known for its accuracy.

What was the correlation value between the Apple Watch SE and the Polar H10 chest strap during indoor cycling?

The correlation value between the Apple Watch SE and the Polar H10 chest strap during indoor cycling was rounded to 1.00, indicating a near-perfect agreement.

How does the Apple Watch SE perform in heart rate tracking during outdoor activities like walking and cycling?

The Apple Watch SE shows good agreement with the reference device during walking and cycling, with minor deviations in heart rate readings during outdoor cycling, especially at higher heart rate ranges.

How does the Apple Watch SE handle one of the most difficult exercises for heart rate tracking, weightlifting?

The Apple Watch SE performs quite well during weightlifting, with a correlation of 0.98, closely following the heart rate peaks recorded by the ECG chest strap, though it sometimes misses values at the very peak of heart rate.

What is the reviewer's rating for the heart rate tracking of the 2022 Apple Watch SE based on the initial testing?

The reviewer gives the heart rate tracking of the 2022 Apple Watch SE a 5 out of 5 stars rating, indicating that it does not significantly underperform compared to the series 8 Apple Watch.

How did the Apple Watch SE perform in sleep stage tracking when compared to an EEG device called The Dream 2?

The Apple Watch SE showed a good agreement with The Dream 2 EEG device, accurately detecting deep sleep, light sleep, and REM sleep stages with high percentages.

What is the reviewer's rating for the sleep stage tracking of the 2022 Apple Watch SE?

The reviewer gives the sleep stage tracking of the 2022 Apple Watch SE a 5 out of 5 stars rating, as it performed as well as the Apple Watch series 7 and did not seem to underperform compared to other Apple watches.

How did the reviewer test the GPS tracking of the Apple Watch SE?

The reviewer tested the GPS tracking of the Apple Watch SE by cycling to and from work six times, checking how long it took for the watch to get a GPS signal and how well the GPS signals overlapped when cycling the same route multiple times.

What was the reviewer's assessment of the Apple Watch SE's GPS tracking performance?

The reviewer found the GPS tracking performance of the Apple Watch SE to be consistent and accurate, acquiring signals instantly and overlapping well when cycling the same route multiple times.

How did the reviewer test the step counting accuracy of the Apple Watch SE?

The reviewer manually counted exactly 8,000 steps using a telecounter while wearing the Apple Watch SE to test its step counting accuracy during walking and other activities like weight lifting, spinning, and biking.

What is the reviewer's rating for the step counting accuracy of the 2022 Apple Watch SE?

The reviewer gives the step counting accuracy of the 2022 Apple Watch SE a rating between four and four and a half out of 5 stars, indicating that it performed quite well, especially during walking and other activities.

What is the overall rating given by the reviewer for the 2022 Apple Watch SE, and what factors contributed to this rating?

The reviewer gives the 2022 Apple Watch SE an overall rating of four and a half out of 5 stars, based on its great heart rate tracking, sleep tracking, GPS tracking, and good step counting accuracy, despite lacking some features of the more expensive Apple Watch series 8.

Outlines

00:00

😀 Heart Rate Tracking Accuracy of Apple Watch SE

The video script discusses the heart rate tracking performance of the 2022 Apple Watch SE, comparing it with the more expensive Apple Watch Series 8. The presenter, Rob, a postdoctoral scientist specializing in biological data analysis, has tested the SE extensively across 15 training sessions. The heart rate measurements from the SE were compared against the Polar H10 ECG chest strap, a device known for its accuracy. The results showed a high correlation, with the Apple Watch SE demonstrating near-perfect agreement in heart rate tracking during indoor cycling, which is considered an easy exercise for such devices. The video also places the SE's performance in context with dozens of other watches tested over the past two years, highlighting its superior performance.

05:01

🚴‍♂️ Outdoor Tracking and Weightlifting Challenges for Apple Watch SE

The script continues with an evaluation of the Apple Watch SE's heart rate tracking capabilities during outdoor activities and more challenging exercises like weightlifting. Outdoor cycling tests revealed a slight decrease in correlation due to the watch shifting on the wrist, but still maintained a high accuracy level with a correlation of 0.97. The SE performed exceptionally well during weightlifting, with a correlation of 0.98, despite the increased wrist tension that usually hampers heart rate readings. The presenter also mentions his other social media channels and the possibility of a newsletter for updates on wearables testing.

10:02

💤 Sleep Stage Tracking Advancements and Apple Watch SE's Performance

The Apple Watch SE's sleep stage tracking is examined, with a focus on its ability to detect sleep stages accurately using the new algorithm introduced by Apple. The script details a comparison with an EEG device called 'to dream 2', which matches brain waves for sleep stage tracking. The SE showed a strong agreement with the EEG device, particularly in detecting deep sleep and REM sleep stages. The presenter notes that the SE's performance is at least as good as the Apple Watch Series 7, suggesting that all recent Apple watches may use the same sleep tracking algorithm, which is highly effective.

15:02

🚴‍♀️ GPS Tracking Consistency of the Apple Watch SE

The script describes a test of the Apple Watch SE's GPS tracking capabilities during six bike rides to and from work. The focus was on the time taken for the watch to acquire a GPS signal and the consistency of the GPS signal when cycling the same route multiple times. The results were positive, with the watch acquiring the GPS signal instantly and maintaining a high level of consistency in tracking the route. Minor deviations occurred but were quickly corrected, indicating a reliable GPS performance.

20:03

🚶‍♂️ Step Counting Accuracy and Activity-Specific Step Detection

The Apple Watch SE's step counting accuracy is tested by taking exactly 8,000 steps and comparing the count to a manual tally. The watch performed well, closely matching the actual steps taken. A comparison with the Apple Watch Series 8 showed similar performance, with both watches accurately counting steps during walking and not counting steps during activities like cycling and weightlifting, except for a slight overcount during weightlifting. The step counting feature of the SE is deemed quite good, with only minor discrepancies noted.

25:04

🌟 Overall Rating and Recommendations for the Apple Watch SE

The script concludes with an overall evaluation of the Apple Watch SE, highlighting its heart rate tracking, sleep tracking, GPS tracking, and step counting capabilities. Despite lacking some features of the more expensive Apple Watch Series 8, such as a larger screen and temperature/SpO2 sensors, the SE is deemed a great value for its price. The presenter gives the SE high ratings for its health and sports tracking features and suggests that for many, the additional cost of the Series 8 may not be justified. The video ends with a comparison to other devices for those who prefer Android or have different budget considerations.

Keywords

💡Apple Watch SE

The Apple Watch SE is a model of Apple's smartwatch that offers a more budget-friendly option compared to the higher-end models. In the video, it is the primary subject of testing for various health and sports tracking features. The script discusses its performance in heart rate tracking, sleep tracking, GPS tracking, and step counting accuracy, comparing it to the more expensive Apple Watch Series 8.

💡Health Tracking

Health tracking refers to the monitoring of various health-related metrics such as heart rate, sleep patterns, and physical activity. In the context of the video, health tracking is the main theme, with the Apple Watch SE's capabilities in this area being evaluated against a more expensive model, the Apple Watch Series 8, to determine if the SE is a worthy alternative.

💡Heart Rate Tracking

Heart rate tracking is the measurement of an individual's heart rate over time, which can be used to monitor fitness levels and health. The video script provides an in-depth analysis of the Apple Watch SE's heart rate tracking accuracy during various exercises, comparing it to a chest strap monitor as a reference device.

💡Sleep Tracking

Sleep tracking involves monitoring sleep patterns, including stages of sleep such as deep sleep, light sleep, and REM sleep. The script discusses the Apple Watch SE's performance in sleep stage tracking, comparing its results to those of an EEG device, to evaluate its accuracy in detecting different sleep stages.

💡GPS Tracking

GPS tracking is the use of the Global Positioning System to determine the precise location of a device. In the video, the Apple Watch SE's GPS tracking is tested for its ability to acquire a signal quickly and accurately trace a cycling route, with the results indicating its consistency and reliability.

💡Step Counting

Step counting is a feature of many fitness trackers and smartwatches that records the number of steps taken by the user. The script evaluates the Apple Watch SE's step counting accuracy by comparing it to a manual count, as well as its ability to not count steps during non-walking activities.

💡Postdoctoral Scientist

A postdoctoral scientist is an individual who has completed their doctoral degree and is engaged in research work after graduation. In the video, the presenter identifies as a postdoctoral scientist specializing in biological data analysis, which lends credibility to the testing and analysis of the Apple Watch SE's features.

💡Biological Data Analysis

Biological data analysis involves the processing and interpretation of data related to living organisms, often using statistical methods. The presenter's expertise in this field is relevant to the video as it informs the rigorous testing and evaluation of the Apple Watch SE's health tracking capabilities.

💡Correlation

In statistics, correlation measures the extent to which two variables are linearly related. The script uses correlation to quantify the agreement between the Apple Watch SE's measurements and those of reference devices, providing a numerical representation of the watch's accuracy in various tests.

💡EEG Device

An EEG (electroencephalogram) device is a tool used to measure electrical activity in the brain, often used in sleep studies. In the video, an EEG device called 'to dream 2' is used as a reference to evaluate the sleep stage tracking capabilities of the Apple Watch SE.

💡Affiliate Links

Affiliate links are a form of marketing where an individual earns a commission for referring a customer to a product or service. The script mentions affiliate links in the description, indicating that viewers can support the channel by purchasing items through these links, which is a common practice in online content creation.

Highlights

The 2022 Apple Watch SE has been overshadowed by the release of the Apple Watch 8 and Ultra but offers a more affordable option.

The Apple Watch SE shows comparable health and sports tracking capabilities to the higher-end Apple Watch 8.

The presenter, Rob, a postdoctoral scientist specializing in biological data analysis, focuses on independent test results rather than watch specifications.

The Apple Watch SE lacks the new temperature sensor and the ability to measure oxygen saturation found in the Series 8.

Rob's testing methodology involves comparing the Apple Watch SE's heart rate tracking to a Polar H10 ECG chest strap during various exercises.

Heart rate tracking accuracy of the Apple Watch SE during indoor cycling shows a high correlation with the chest strap, indicating reliable performance.

The Apple Watch SE's heart rate tracking during outdoor activities like walking and cycling maintains good agreement with the reference device.

In challenging exercises like weightlifting, the Apple Watch SE still demonstrates strong heart rate tracking capabilities.

Sleep stage tracking on the Apple Watch SE is compared to an EEG device, showing high accuracy in detecting sleep stages.

The Apple Watch SE's GPS tracking is tested for signal acquisition speed and route consistency, with impressive results.

Step counting accuracy of the Apple Watch SE is evaluated, with the watch closely matching the actual number of steps taken.

The Apple Watch SE does not falsely count steps during activities that do not involve walking, such as cycling and weightlifting.

The Apple Watch SE's performance in heart rate tracking, sleep tracking, GPS tracking, and step counting is rated highly, with 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Rob suggests that for many people, the additional features of the Apple Watch Series 8 may not justify the higher price, making the SE a more attractive option.

The video concludes that the Apple Watch SE is a strong choice for health and sports tracking, especially considering its more affordable price point.

Transcripts

the new 2022 Apple watch SE has gotten

little attention because of the

simultaneous announcement of the Apple

watch 8 and especially the Apple watch

Ultra however the SE might actually be

my first choice When taking into account

the price tags of all these devices

over the last few days I've extensively

tested the Apple watch SE while also

testing the new Apple watch series 8 and

in terms of health and sports tracking

the SE does not underperform much

compared to the higher end Apple watch

8. in this video we will take a

comprehensive look at the heart rate

tracking accuracy sleep tracking

performance GPS tracking and step

counting accuracy of this brand new

watch from Apple

hello everyone for those of you that are

new to the channel my name is Rob and

I'm a postdoctoral scientist

specializing in biological data analysis

now on this channel I like to focus on

Independent test results and not so much

on the specs of the watches however I

did want to know two of the major

differences of the Apple watch SE

compared to the Apple watch 8. in terms

of health tracking the Apple watch SE

lacks the new temperature sensor that

was introduced with the series 8 Apple

watch additionally it also uses an older

generation Optical sensor that can

measure heart rate but not oxygen

saturation like the watch 8 can measure

additionally as well however I expected

skin temperature and spo2 two are not

the most important features for most

people if that's true for you you might

be able to save quite some money by

buying the watch SE instead of the watch

8. however I would only recommend that

if the measurements of the SE are

roughly as reliable as those of the

watch 8. so let's find out if that's the

case I want to start off by looking at

the heart rate tracking accuracy of the

2022 Apple watch SC which I tested

during a total of 15 training sessions

to test that I'll compare the heart rate

measurements of the Apple watch SE

against the polar h10 ECG chest trap

which can generally record my heart rate

very accurately as I actually showed you

in a recent video we'll start by looking

at one of the easiest types of exercises

for a watch to track cycling indoors and

I'll be looking at a total of three

interval spinning sessions now this

involves very little movement or tension

on my arms and will therefore produce

relatively little noise now here you can

see an overview of that accuracy over

several rides each adult here is a

single heart rate measurement with along

the horizontal axis the value according

to the polar h10 HG chest strap and on

the vertical axis the value according to

the Apple watch SE

ver close to the points are to the Blue

Line the better the agreement and the

darker black the color the more dots

they are in that area

as you can see there's a really good

agreement between the Apple watch SE and

the ECG chest strap as basically all

points are super close to the Blue Line

the correlation this r value up here is

also really good at a rounded value of

1.00 when we allow for two decimal

points the correlation cannot be higher

than one so a rounded value of 1.00 is

more or less perfect we can see why that

is if we actually look at the individual

training sessions and here you can see

my first interval spinning session for

instance with longer horizontal axis at

the time and my heart rate along the

vertical axis in blue green I uploaded

my heart rate according to the polar h10

EGD Jazz strap and in red is my heart

rate according to the Apple watch SE as

you can see the two lines overlap almost

perfectly which is super good only here

in the beginning was there one

measurement with some deviation but this

is basically negligible and that is

basically what we see for all of the

training sessions the the Apple watch SE

does not show any significant deviation

from the reference device in any of my

testing so far for the heart rate

performance during interval spinning

however let's boot this into perspective

by comparing it to dozens of other

watches I've tested over the last two

years that overview is displayed here

the correlation I was talking about

before is the metric I'll use for this

which is displayed along the horizontal

axis we want that value to be as close

to 1 as possible and on the vertical

axis I ordered the watches from worst to

best so the further to the right and the

higher devices the better is its

correlation with the reference device

now here I marked the Apple watch as em

red and as you can see the 2022 watch SE

has a super high correlation value

compared to other watches which is

really good if we zoom in and get rid of

some of the worst performing watches we

can see that even more clearly the watch

SE has one of the highest scores and is

very close in performance to the other

Apple watches both the new Apple watch

series 8 but also the older Apple watch

SE and Apple watch 6 and 7. I expect

that performance is actually very

similar and the difference might be

within the error margins of my

measurements now one surprising thing is

that both the Apple watch 8 and the new

SE perform even a bit better than when I

was wearing two HD chest straps at the

same time now one explanation could be

the error margins you have in any

measurements or the fact that I had to

place this second ECG chest strap lower

than was recommended so it was not

ideally placed overall though this means

that the Apple watch SE is doing really

well when it comes to heart rate

tracking next let's briefly take a look

at another easy type of exercise for a

watch to track namely walking outside

for which I did two tests now these are

the results for the first walk with

again in blue green the measurements of

the chest strap and I read the Apple

watch we see more or less a perfect

overlap with some small deviations

we see one deviation here for instance

but in general it's really minor overall

the performance is actually really good

and that's also what we see for this

second walk where I cannot see any

significant deviations at all honestly

next let's take a look at an even more

challenging type of exercise cycling

outside while cycling Outdoors watches

tend to shift a lot more on the wrist

making accurate heart rate readings much

more difficult to see how this affected

the Apple watch I tested it during a

total of six bike rides here we have a

similar overview plot to before but now

for biking outside as you can see

there's still a good agreement between

the watch SE and the ECG chess trap

however we do see there are some more

points just a little bit further away

from the Blue Line indicating the

agreement is slightly lower the

correlation is also just a little bit

lower compared to what we saw before for

cycling indoors with the correlation now

being 0.97 however overall it's still

really good and we can see that in more

detail if we look at some of the bike

rides themselves as you can see the red

line representing the watch SE still

overlaps really well with the ECG chest

strap though at the peaks of my heart

rate sometimes we see some minor

deviations as you can see for instance

here but also here and this is what we

see for many bike rides like this one

right here where the overlap is

generally really good though there are

some minor deviations especially amongst

the higher heart rate ranges and you can

also see that in this bike ride right

here for instance where if my Hardware

gets high there are some minor

deviations we can again put this into

perspective by looking at many of the

watches I've tested over the last years

similar to before we use the correlation

with the ECG Jazz strap as the value on

the horizontal axis and the better the

agreement the more to the top right the

device is and as you can see the new

Apple watch SE which I marked in red is

again amongst the best devices when it

comes to heart rate tracking now again

if we zoom into the best performing

watches the new Apple watch SE is close

to the Apple watch 7 8 and the old SE

those correlation is slightly lower now

I cannot say for sure yet if this is a

systematic difference or just random

chance overall I would still say they

all perform quite well however so far

these exercises represent easy and

medium hard exercises for a watch to

track for heart rate so let's now move

on to one of the most difficult

exercises for a watch to track

weightlifting as I've mentioned

previously this is much more difficult

because of the increased tension on my

wrist and arm making it much harder for

the watch to get a clean heart rate

signal

however first a quick side note if

you're interested in the latest updates

on the wearables I'm testing I'm

planning to start back up with my

newsletter and posting more off the golf

things on my Instagram and my YouTube

shorts channel so if you're interested

in any of those those are linked below

of course you would also make me really

happy and it would help my efforts if

you subscribe to this YouTube channel

but of course this is totally up to you

now enough self-promotion let's take a

look at the performance during

weightlifting and here we can see an

overview of that accuracy similar to

before but now for weightlifting the

performance of the watch SE appears to

be even a bit better than the

performance attack during cycling

outside as the points are even a bit

closer to the Blue Line the correlation

is also again a bit higher at 0.98 if we

look at the individual training sessions

we can indeed see that the watch SE does

have quite good performance each time I

do a set of exercises there's a peek in

my heart rate as the ECG chest strap

shows here in blue green and the Apple

watch SE is mostly able to follow along

with this only here in the beginning did

it struggle for a moment but overall

it's quite good as is also true for this

other training example again the red

line of the Apple watch SE follows along

very well the blue green line of the HD

chess trap however similar to the other

Apple watch models it does Miss some

heart rate values sometimes at the peaks

of my heart rate as you can see here in

the beginning for instance where it

seems that there are some missing

measurements overall though it's still

quite good we can again put this into

perspective by comparing it to all the

other watches I tested in the past and

we see those results in this overview

right here again the more to the top

right the better the consistency with

the ECG chest strap and as you can see

relative to other watches the new Apple

watch SE which I marked in red is doing

really well and again if we zoom in we

can see that a bit better the new 2022

Apple watch SE is amongst the best

performing watches performing similarly

to the Apple watch 6 7 and 8. So based

on this initial testing I would conclude

that the new 2022 watch SE is a really

good heart rate tracker like all Apple

watches I've tested overall I dare

forgive the heart rate tracking 5 out of

5 Stars it does not really seem to

significantly underperform compared to

the series 8 Apple watch so heart rate

tracking would not be a good reason to

select the watch 8 over the watch SE

let's now move on to something that

Apple has recently made a major leap in

the Sleep stage tracking where a few

months ago the Apple watch could only

detect when you are asleep or awake it

now has one of the best algorithms for

Sleep stage tracking this new sleep

stage algorithm should be released to

all watches that support the new watch

OS 9 which includes the 2022 Apple watch

SE and the Apple Watch series 8. however

the major difference is that the Apple

watch 8 has a skin temperature sensor

which could potentially be used as an an

additional data source for the Sleep

stage tracking though I personally doubt

Apple would use it for that purpose

still let's find out how the 2022 Apple

watch SE performed when it comes to

sleep stage tracking and let's also

briefly compare it to the Apple watch 8

to check if the new 2022 Apple watch SE

can detect my sleep stages I'll compare

it to an EEG device called to dream 2

that can actually match my brain waves

and has been shown to be relatively

reliable at sleep stage tracking now

here I show an overview of the sleep

test results for getting an overall

impression of how well the watch SE

performs The Dream 2 should likely be

good enough after the Gold Standard

would be polosomnography which you would

also like to try on the watch SE in the

future now on top here are the sleep

stages as recorded by the EEG device on

the left the Sleep stage is recorded by

the watch SE now I wore both the EEG

device and the Apple watch to bet for

two nights and I will see how close the

prediction of the Apple watch are to

those of the EEG device now each column

here sums to 100 meaning that we can see

what percentage of each of the sleep

stages according to the dream 2 was

predicted as a sleep stage by the Apple

watch SE if they perfectly agree all

values on the diagonal should be 100

first of all we see that about 97

percent of what was deeply according to

the EEG device was also deep sleep

according to the Apple watch which is

about as good as you can expect on the

few occasions that deep sleep according

to the EG device was predicted

differently by the Apple watch it was

likely predicted as light sleep at about

2.6 percent and we can see that based on

the individual nights on top we have the

sleep stages according to the dream to

EG headband with the clock time along

the horizontal axis and the sleep stages

on the vertical axis on the bottom we

have a similar plot but now for the

Apple watch SE I've highlighted all the

EEG recorded deep sleep in purple right

here for for this night we can indeed

see that basically all of the Deep Sleep

detected by The Dream to EEG headband

was also detected as deep sleep by the

Apple watch SE which is really good this

second Knight shows much of the same

results with a really good match between

both devices at least when it comes to

deep sleep tracking light sleep

agreement was also very good at about 92

percent so really good again and if they

did disagree it could be that the Apple

watch SE predicted any of the other

sleep stages REM sleep agreement was

also not bad at all at about 72

agreement with the EG device if it was

predicted differently it was mostly

predicted as being light sleep at about

25 and we can see that clearly based on

the individual Knights as well now this

is a similar plot to before but now with

REM sleep as measured by the EEG device

marked in red as you can see there's a

good agreement between the Apple watch

and the EEG device when it comes to REM

sleep basically all of the ram sleep

segments detected by the EEG device were

also detected by the Apple watch and we

see the same thing for the other night

where we see a good agreement between

both devices when it comes to Ram sleep

tracking this also means we can clearly

see the sleep cycles based on just the

data from the Apple watch SE now you go

through roughly four to six sleep cycles

each night each one starting with light

sleep and deep sleep Market in blue and

each one ending in REM sleep marked here

in red as you can see I likely had one

two three four complete sleep cycles

this night and we are able to see this

based on just the data from the Apple

watch which is really good since not

many watches can do that a wake

detection actually also agrees very well

at about 81 agreement and the most

disagreement was with light sleep which

makes sense as light sleep is the

closest Sleep stage to being awake in

general the Apple watch does tend to

detect the awake moments that the EEG

device also detected which are marked

here in green but it generally tends to

detect a few extra wake moments as well

as you can see right here in the middle

of the night and we see the same thing

for this second example Knight right

here where the EEG device detected no

significant awake moments whereas the

Apple watch did detect several short

awake moments now I should note as I've

mentioned in another video that the

Apple watch might be intentionally set

to also detect really short awake

moments whereas the dream 2 EG headband

might be set to ignore these to boot

these results into context we can

compare the performance of the Apple

watch SE to that of 38 other watches

I've tested in the past this graph shows

an overview of the agreement of

different watches with the EEG device

along the horizontal axis we have the

average agreement over the four

individual sleep stages and on the

vertical axis we have the agreement of

the worst sleep stage now the better the

agreement the more to the top right the

devices and as you can see the best

agreeing device I tested before this was

the Apple Watch series 7 which I tested

for a total of 18 nights other good

devices include different fitbits whoop

straps and the way things sleep analyzer

if we now plot the Apple watch SE in the

same plot which is marked here in red we

see that it's agreement with the EEG

device is really good of course this is

just based on two nights of data but it

seems to be at least as good as the

Apple Watch series 7 at least based on

this first impression I suspect that the

difference between these two watches is

largely due to uncertainty of just

having two knights of data for the Apple

watch se but it at least indicates that

this performance is not much worse than

that of the Apple watch 7 which means

it's a really good sleep tracker now to

add even more context here I also

uploaded the results from the Apple

Watch series 8 I tested at the same time

as the Apple watch SE as you can see

this is also really close in performance

to the Apple watch SE and the Apple

watch 7. so this is again a hint that

all Apple watches likely have the same

sleep tracking algorithm and that this

is a really good algorithm so this looks

quite impressive and I'm really happy

with the sleep tracking performance of

the Apple watch SE it does not seem to

under form compared to the other Apple

watches at least not in his first test

and is really amongst the best sleep

trackers therefore overall I'd give the

Sleep stage tracking also 5 out of 5

Stars let's now move on to another

important feature of the Apple watch SE

the location or GPS tracking to test

that I track my route during six bike

rides while cycling to and from work and

I wanted to test two things one how long

does it take for the watch to get a GPS

signal and two how well the GPS signals

overlap when cycling the same route

multiple times I should mention I did

not take my phone with me so the watch

was solely reliant on its own sensors

that is displayed right here for three

times I cycle two work now I started the

activity the moment I was ready to leave

and I did not provide the watch with any

extra time to acquire the signal now the

green markers indicates those moments

the watch acquired the GPS signal and as

you can see it connected instantly and

all cases which is really good and if we

now look at the consistency between the

signals this is also super good the

signals are very often almost on top of

each other indicating they're very

consistent now it's not perfect they're

Sometimes some minor deviation as we see

right here for instance however

generally it's really accurate at

tracking my location which you can

actually see for most of the ride for

instance right here it's looking really

good again the signals are almost on top

of each other there is this one moment

right here where two of the signals

showed some weird artifact but generally

it's performing really well even through

this area where most watches seem to

struggle for cycling back from work we

see more or less the same thing the

signal is acquired almost instantly as

you can see here and once it has the

signal it overlaps really well though

one of the signals here has a bit of

deviation but it quickly corrects itself

again to the moment where the signals

are overlapping again and I would say

there are generally very few moments

with deviation between the signals I can

only see two real moments with some

deviation like this one right here after

the roundabout and also this one right

here near the Zara but the overlap

between the signals is mostly really

good indicating that the 2022 watch SE

is really consistent when it comes to

GPS tracking overall I'm happy with the

GPS tracking performance of the Apple

watch SE it seems to perform even a bit

better than the Apple Watch series 8 I

tested at the same time though this

might just be random variation therefore

overall I'd get a GPS tracking four and

a half out of five stars though I still

have to quantify it the quality seems

similar to what I've seen for some of

the better Garmin watches

now the next thing I wanted to test on

the Apple watch SE is this step counting

accuracy to test the step counting

accuracy I went out and took exactly 8

000 steps with the 2022 Apple watch SE

now I do not like to count 8 000 steps

in my head which is why I manually

counted each step using this telecounter

let's take a look at those results and

here I show the results for the first 4

000 steps where I wore the Apple watch

SE on my right arm along the horizontal

axis is the time and the total number of

steps counted is on the vertical axis

the blue green line represents the steps

counted by the watch and the blue

vertical lines indicate the moments it

should have counted 1 000 steps more so

the first blue line is one thousand

steps the second two thousand three

thousand and so on as you can see the

Apple watch SE was very close to

Counting exactly 1000 steps for each of

the four segments and at the end it

basically ended up counting almost

exactly four thousand steps now I I wore

the Apple Watch series 8 at the same

time but on the other wrist and if we

plot those results in here in red we

actually see that both watches perform

more or less similarly both consistently

counting more or less the correct number

of steps I actually repeated this test

but now switching both watches to the

opposite wrist and as you can see the

watch SE was again pretty close to the

actual number of steps it should have

counted though there were some

deviations with some potential under

counting right here in the end it ended

up again counting roughly the correct

number of steps also note that here I

took a short break in Walking which is

why this segment is a bit longer again

if we display the Apple watch 8 in red

we see that this performed more or less

the same as the Apple watch SE both did

quite well though the Apple watch 8

might have actually done a bit worse

even so this is also looking quite good

however the next question is if the 2022

Apple watch SE ever count steps when

it's not supposed to for for instance

when doing activities that do not

involve walking let's take a look now

those results are displayed here for

four activities on the vertical axis

walking weight lifting spinning and

biking on the horizontal axis is the

number of steps per minute the Apple

watch counted for each of these

activities ideally it would count zero

steps for all of the activities except

for walking of course now as you can see

when I was walking it counted about 80

to 90 steps per minute which is a normal

walking pace now this makes sense as we

saw before that it was quite good at

counting steps when I was walking now

when cycling outside it actually counted

close to zero steps per minute most of

the time which is really good as you can

see in red right here during spinning it

also performed quite well as you can see

here in green it only counted a few

steps per minute in that case

interestingly though while weightlifting

it did Count some more steps roughly

between 5 and 15 steps per minute so

this is much less than while walking it

is still surprising it counted quite

some more steps during weightlifting

overall the step counting performance of

the Apple watch SE is quite good it

appears to be better in fact than what

we saw for the Apple watch 8 which

counted more steps when doing spinning

exercises therefore overall I'd give

this step counting accuracy between four

and four and a half out of 5 Stars so I

would say that overall the 2022 Apple

watch SE does not significantly

underperform compared to the more

expensive Apple Watch series 8 when it

comes to the main health and sports

tracking features that I discussed here

yes it does have a smaller screen size

and it lacks the temperature and spo2

sensors but personally I think that for

many people the higher price stack of

the Apple Watch series 8 is not worth it

the new 2022 Apple watch SE has great

heart rate tracking great sleep tracking

and great GPS tracking and the step

counting is also pretty good therefore

overall I'd give the Apple watch SE four

and a half out of 5 Stars if I had a

medium-sized budget I would probably

choose the Apple watch SE over the more

expensive Apple watch 8 but of course

it's a very personal choice for you in

the end if you do decide that you want

to buy an Apple Watch another device or

anything at all on Amazon for that

matter even something as small as toilet

paper and at the same time support the

channel there are different affiliate

links in the description below that do

not cost you any extra and some even

provide discounts by the way if you

don't like iOS and want to stick with

Android and still have good heart rate

tracking some Huawei watches are quite

good as I discussed in these videos for

sleep tracking Fitbit devices are much

cheaper and also perform quite well as

you can see right here now I hope this

video provided you with some value thank

you so much for watching and catch you

in the next video

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